


Violet

by SallyK



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Female Pronouns for Narukami Arashi, Fluff, mentions of dysphoria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-09 13:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15268431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallyK/pseuds/SallyK
Summary: Izumi has a gift for Arashi.





	Violet

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language but I tried my best for Ara-nee <3
> 
> I hope you like it!

“Do you plan on opening it today or what?” Izumi muttered against his teacup.

They were seated at their usual table in the lovely café they went to after a photoshoot. This time, they had posed for a swimsuit catalogue that would be distributed later in the year, when it would be more appropriate. The cherry trees had yet to bloom, after all.

Arashi’s hair was still wet at the ends. But that wasn’t the thing that was bothering her. She had felt _uneasy_ since she had accepted the job. She had told herself that it was just the usual nerves before the flashes, that it would be gone once everything had ended.

They had gotten out the studio half an hour ago and the feeling was still there, gnawing at her stomach as if she had eaten expired food.

Arashi knew it hadn’t been a good idea to agree to a job where she had to expose _so much_ skin, but the studio had asked for both Izumi and her and she was a professional. Now, after all the posing with so many men’s swimwear and so many eyes looking at her _body,_ she wondered if it had been worth it.

“Oi, are you still here?” Izumi snapped his fingers and Arashi looked at him with an apologetic smile. “You know, when someone gives you a _gift_ you should at least try to open it.”

The package in Arashi’s hand wasn’t big. It was, in fact, so small that she could close her fingers around it and cover it completely. The wrapping was beautiful, with small pictures of pink flowers against a bluish background. It had even a small pink ribbon and a heart sticker on the side.

Arashi guessed this was all Izumi’s doing; he could be harsh and abrasive sometimes, but he could also be very thoughtful and meticulous when he wanted. Apparently, this was one of those occasions, although Arashi couldn’t fathom why. Her birthday had already passed.

“It’s just… it’s so cute, it’s a pity to ruin your hard work wrapping this, Izumi-chan!”

Izumi’s answer was just a soft grumble, but Arashi knew he was pleased with the compliment, and she smiled before looking again at the package and planning how to open it without breaking the wrapping too much.

She caught a glimpse of a black box with white lettering, and she guessed it was a beauty product. It wouldn’t be the first time; Izumi and her were always recommending each other things like body scrubs, cleansing creams or under-eye concealers. A pretty face was expensive and hard to maintain.

Arashi finally tore the wrapping and the box slid free to the palm of her hand.

It was a lipstick.

Not a lip balm.

A lipstick.

“What’s this, Izumi-chan?” Arashi marveled at how she could still speak, despite the sudden lump at her throat.

“A lipstick.” Izumi sent her an annoyed look. “Remember two weeks ago at the mall? You started to look at the poster with that lipstick so intensely that I almost tripped with you.”

Yes, now that Izumi had mentioned it, this was of the same brand that the one that had appeared in the poster, featuring a lovely girl with faint pink lips.

Still confused about what this was _really_ about, Arashi opened the box. The shade wasn’t pink, or light brown, or any other inconspicuous colour. It was violet. Rich, deep violet. She wondered if Izumi had chosen it by mistake, but when she glanced at him he was just looking at her, waiting for her reaction.

“Is it because it matches my eyes?” Arashi ventured. She was smiling, but her mind was all panic and bewilderment. Izumi had bought her beauty products before, yes, but not _makeup_. And this was very obvious, flashy makeup. “It’s beautiful, Izumi-chan, but I don’t get why are you giving me this today?”

“Ummm...” Izumi cleared his throat. Was he… was he blushing? “Actually it’s because I read somewhere that that’s the colour of femininity or some shit like that.” Izumi’s face was serious, but his gaze was soft, understanding. “You didn’t have to say yes to the job if it was going to made you feel bad, dumbass. I would have covered for you.”

Arashi was grateful their table was kind of isolated from the rest of the café, because she felt tears in her eyes when she got up from her seat to hug Izumi who, for once, didn’t tell her to back off once the hug started to last more than a normal one.

“Are you going to put it on?” Izumi asked, nodding towards the lipstick.

Arashi took out the pocket mirror she always carried with her and carefully applied the lipstick. It wasn’t the first time she had tried one, but this was, by far, the strongest shade she had ever painted her lips with. It felt weird, but the good kind of weird. She flirted with her reflection, winking an eye.

“You’re even prettier when you smile.” Izumi mumbled, probably thinking she was so self-absorbed that she couldn’t hear him. Arashi pretended that was the case out of respect, although something inside her was doing backflips. Her heart, probably.

“Can I kiss you, Izumi-chan? I want to test how smudge-proof it is.” Arashi batted her eyelashes.

She was pretty sure he was going to say no, but she didn’t lose anything for asking anyway. That’s why she was so surprised when Izumi just averted his eyes and crossed his arms.

“Whatever” he finally muttered. “But don’t get any weird ideas, okay? It’s only because I want to see if the lipstick’s good too.”

Yeah. Definitely the thing doing backflips was her heart.

Arashi didn’t want to push her luck too much, so she just kissed Izumi’s cheek. The violet mark of lips against fair skin was less noticeable than it should have because Izumi’s face was completely red. Arashi checked the lipstick on her pocket mirror. The colour was less intense, but it had endured the kiss pretty well overall.

“Thank you.” she whispered, giving Izumi a friendly nudge at the side “This means a lot.”

“Just take care of yourself, okay? I can’t do it for you, it’s annoying” Despite his words, Arashi could see he didn’t actually mind, and she nearly kissed him again, but in the end she just went back to her seat. The tea was already cold, but it didn’t matter.

Arashi washed her lips before they asked for the bill and left the café.

Izumi did nothing to clean the purple mark on his cheek, he even refused the tissue Arashi offered him.

When they parted ways at the station, the painted kiss was still lingering there.


End file.
